Constitution and Bylaws
The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies.
Incorporated - Constitution
Be it known, That we, the subscribers, do hereby associate
ourselves as a body politic and corporate, pursuant to the
statute laws of the State of Connecticut regulating the
formation and organization of corporations without capital
stock, and the following are our articles of association:
ARTICLE 1. The name of said corporation shall be the NORTHEAST
COUNCIL OF AQUARIUM SOCIETIES, Incorporated.
ARTICLE 2. The purposes for which said corporation is
formed are the following, to wit:
a. To assist local aquarium groups, members
of the Council, to obtain program material;
b. To facilitate exchange of information among
member groups;
c. To set up standards of judging Tropical Fish,
and to train personnel to become qualified
judges;
d. To establish and maintain a clearing house of
sources of available material relating to the
Tropical fish Hobby;
e. To assist in the organization of new groups, or the
reactivation of existing groups, where requested;
f. To promote the Tropical Fish Hobby in general, and to
urge local groups to obtain all possible publicity
concerning their activities.
ARTICLE 3. The said corporation is located in the town of
Wethersfield, Conn. And its principal office at No.
254 Wella Road, and the agent upon whom process
against it may be served is Clyde Jasmin.
Dated at Hartford, Conn. this 13th day of September,
1956.
The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies.
Incorporated – By-Laws
ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
A. Any regularly organized aquarium society located in
the Northeast Section of the Untied States of America may
apply for membership and upon a two-thirds (2/3) majority
acceptance of the Board of Governors and the current
dues, shall become a member; and shall remain a member
upon payment of dues yearly.
B. Dues for each coming year shall be determined by the
needs of the Council, and shall be recommended by the
Board of Governors to the Council at the meeting of the
Council help in March of each year, and be voted upon at
each annual meeting of the council.
C. Any group which joins the Council on or Before September
30, 1956, shall be exempt from payment of the entrance
fee. These Societies shall be considered Charter Members.
D. Any Charter member who resigns from the Council shall be
considered a Charter member inactive. Any Charter Member
inactive or Member Club inactive can return to an active
status only by a vote of the Board of Governors, and
payment of an entrance fee and current dues.
E. Dues shall be paid annually, and any member more than
three months in arrears shall be considered as not in
good standing.
F. Each member society shall select a Delegate to the
Council and an Alternate, at least one of whom shall
attend the meetings of the Council
G. Voting power at all council meetings shall be limited to
members of the Board of Governors and the Delegate or
Alternate of each Member Society.
H. The Chairman of the meeting shall cast the deciding vote
in case of a tie.
ARTICLE II: OFFICERS
A. The officers of this Council shall be a President, a
Vice President, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding
Secretary, and Treasurer. The immediate Past President
shall remain a member of the Board of Governors.
B. The Board of governors shall consist of five (5)
officers, the immediate past President, six (6) members
at large, and the chairman of all standing committees.
The five officers and six members at large shall be
elected at an Annual meeting for the period of two years.
C. Any vacancy on the Board of Governors shall be filled by
the Board.
D. Two consecutive absences on the part of any Board member
without sufficient reason and without notice to the
President, shall automatically cancel membership on the
Board.
E. Two meeting previous to the Annual Meeting, a nominating
committee of five (5) shall be elected and shall prepare
a ballot for the officers and members at large of the
Board of Governors, and their report shall accompany the
call for the Annual Meeting.
F. Additional nominees for any of these offices may be made
from the floor at the annual meeting.
ARTICLE III: MEETINGS
A. The Council shall meet quarterly. The last meeting of
the fiscal year shall be the Annual Meeting and the
biennial election and installation of officers.
B. Special meetings may be called by the President and
shall be called upon by two thirds (2/3) vote of the
Board of Governors.
C. A quorum at any meeting of the Board of Governors shall
be five (5) members, and at any meeting of the Council a
quorum shall be forty (40) percent of the members of the
council in good standing.
ARTICLE IV: AUDIT OF BOOKS
A. Each incoming Board of Governors shall audit the books
of the Treasurer of the preceding 2 years.
ARTICLE V: DUTIES OF OFFICERS
A. The President shall direct this Council and:
1. Preside at all meetings.
2. Appoint any special committees .
3. Call any and all special meetings as deemed necessary.
4. Decide all points of order under Constitution and By-
Laws.
B. The Vice President shall:
1. Assume all duties of the top officer upon the absence
of the President.
2. Be an active aide to the President at all times.
3. * Shall assume the general liaison of any convention,
or workshop sponsor by the Council, between the
committees and the Council.
4. * Shall make all reports concerning said affairs to the
President and to the Council and/or Board of Governors.
5. * Shall be responsible for turning over of all monies
on a timely basis to the Treasurer of the Council.
C. The Recording Secretary shall keep a true and accurate
report of the meetings, reading same at succeeding
meetings.
D. The Corresponding Secretary shall carry on all
correspondence required and notify all members of regular
and special meetings, as directed by the Board of
Governors.
E. The Treasurer shall:
1. Collect all dues and other monies payable to this
Council.
2. Pay out such monies owed by this council in
accordance with the direction of the Board of
governors, receiving such receipts as necessary for
the protection and proper records this office.
3. Be present at each meeting of the Council and report
its financial standing to date, and to attend to such
other matters as the President of the Council shall
direct.
F. The Board of Governors shall carry out all matters voted
at any meeting of the Council; make necessary decisions
between meetings of the council, and transact other such
business as may be necessary.
ARTICLE VI: STANDING COMMITTEES
a. There shall be the following Standing Committees:
Committee on Constitution and by Laws; Committee on
Program; Committee on Judging and Standards; Committee on
Organization; Committee on Public Relations; Committee on
Shows; Committee on Planning; Committee on Legislation;
Committee on Raffle; Committee on Competitive Events;
Committee on Workshop.
b. The Chairman and Committee members shall be approved by
the Board of Governors, after appointment. Removal from
office for just cause (as provided elsewhere) shall be
done by the President and only after approval by the
Board of Governors. A simple majority of those present
shall be required for removal. Removal shall only be
after notification by Certified Mail that this action is
being taken at the next meeting and the individual will
be given an opportunity to defend himself or herself or
present his or her side of the story.
ARTICLE VII: DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
A. The Committee on Constitution and By-Laws shall draw up
and submit to the Council a suggested constitution and
By-Laws, shall receive from any member any suggested
changes and recommend to the Council any changes which,
in their opinion, will increase the effectiveness of the
activities of the Council.
B. The Committee on Program shall collect information on
all types of program material and make same available to
all member societies.
C. The Committee on Judging and Standards shall set up
standards for judging tropical fish and shall supervise
the training of personnel to become competent judges.
D. The Committee on Organization shall assist in the
organization of new groups or the reactivation of
existing groups, where requested.
E. The Committee on Public Relations shall promote the
tropical fish hobby in general and urge local groups to
obtain all possible publicity concerning their
activities; and shall act as liaison between the Board of
Governors and local societies.
F. The Committee on Planning shall plan and arrange
programs for council meetings subject to the approval of
the Board of Governors.
G. The Committee on Legislation shall keep abreast of
Federal bills and regulations on fish and wildlife as
well as those in Council areas (i.e., Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, etc.) Alert
Council Delegates to pending harmful laws and
regulations. Represent Northeast Council before
regulatory agencies.
H. The Committee on Competitive Events shall be the advisor
to the Board on all competitive events sponsored by the
Northeast Council and their services can be made
available upon request to all member clubs.
I. Committee on Raffle:
1. Will obtain items to be raffled off (will be paid for
by the Council).
2. Conduct the raffle.
3. Fund raising for the Council, as needed.
K.* Committee on Convention or Workshop:
1. This committee shall be responsible for any convention
or workshop, its organizing, its conduct, the
invitation of guests and speakers or lecturers, and the
fund-raising and cash turnover to the treasurer.
2. The location of these affairs are subject to the
approval of the Board of Governors.
3. Copies of all notices must be sent to the Secretary of
the Council.
ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS
A. Amendments to this Constitution and By-Laws may be made
by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the Council present at any
regular meeting, provided written notice of the proposed
amendment is presented to each member society at least
forty five (45) days prior to the date of the meeting at
which such amendment is to be voted.
B. Nothing in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Northeast
Council shall in any way negate any part of the
Constitution of the United States Government.
C. In the event of dissolution of the Society, all
properties and monies of the society shall be donated to
a non-profit organization; such nonprofit organization
being one that is recognized as such by the Internal
Revenue Service of the United States of America.
D. The Corporate Agent of the Northeast Council of Aquarium
Societies, Inc. shall be a voting member of the Board of
Governors.
E. * only duly authorized delegates can vote in elections.
F. * It is not necessary to be a delegate, but a member
must be present to be nominated. (Question on a letter of
intent)
* Amendments made prior to August 25,1985.
G. The range of the Northeast Council as defined in the
By-Laws Article I.
· Connecticut
· Maine
· Massachusetts
· New Hampshire
· New Jersey
· New York
· Pennsylvania
· Rhode Island
· Vermont
H. The President of the NEC can call for a vote of the
BOG’s on a motion using the Internet. This procedure
should be reserved for situations where:
1. Assembling of the BOG’s would be impractical due to
inclement weather or holiday considerations
OR
2. A deadline exists limiting the decision lead-time.
a. The BOG’s must be copied on all responses.
b. Responses are limited to the current BOG’s.
c. There must be a quorum as defined by the NEC
constitution.
d. The president will attempt a second method of contact
if a response is not received from each Member of the
BOG’s, in a reasonable amount of time.
I. An Individual can only represent one club for the purpose
of quorum and voting; representation is to be stated at
role-call.
